Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The name Riddle Lake is an old one. Early hunters who thought this lake was located dir-
ectly on the Continental Divide and drained to both oceans may have called it “Riddle” Lake.
The name Biddle Lake sometimes shows up on old maps in this location or where Jackson
Lake is, presumably honoring Nicholas Biddle, the Philadelphia publisher of William Clark's
map. Riddle Lake actually drains into Yellowstone Lake and thence to the Atlantic Ocean. A
U.S. Geological Survey party in 1885 decided no riddle should be without a solution, so they
named the lake's outlet “Solution Creek.”
Bear Management Areas
In recent summers, the Riddle Lake area has been closed until mid July for bear man-
agement. This means that the park's Bear Management Office limits bear/human interac-
tions in an effort to keep bears from becoming habituated to people and especially to allow
grizzly bears large areas of wilderness without human contact. Humans are thus less likely
to be injured, and bears do not have to be relocated or killed. The program, inaugurated in
1983, appears to be paying of in the relatively few cases of bears injuring people and in the
apparent increase in the bear population. (There's more about bears in the Living Things
chapter.)
17.5/4.0
Crossing the Continental Divide. The land here is so nearly flat that you wouldn't no-
tice a divide if it weren't for the sign.
19.8/1.7
Grant Village side road to the east.
This road passes the law enforcement ranger station and in less than 1 mile (1.6 km)
reaches the village, the newest facility in the park.
Named for Ulysses S. Grant, the president who signed the act establishing the park in 1872,
Grant Village was built between the late 1960s and the 1990s. The Snake River complex of
forest fires threatened the settlement in 1988 and burned some campground buildings.
FACILITIES AT GRANT VILLAGE
As you enter the Grant Village area, you'll find a service station and mini-store on
the left.
The large general store with lunch counter and the registration building for ar-
ranging accommodations in the motel rooms are slightly farther along on the right.
